Introduction to LangChain: Build AI Apps with Ollama — PickAClass
★ 3.7 (7) ⏱ 3h 6m 📚 29 lessons

Introduction to LangChain: Build AI Apps with Ollama

Create chatbots and RAG systems with local LLMs, mastering prompt engineering, data connection, and agent fundamentals.

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About this course

Ready to build custom AI applications on your own machine without relying on expensive APIs? This course demystifies large language models (LLMs) and shows you how to harness their power for practical projects using LangChain and Ollama. You will learn to set up a complete local development environment, connect to powerful open-source LLMs, and build functional applications from scratch. By the end, you'll be able to design and implement sophisticated RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems to chat with your own documents and create foundational AI agents that can reason and take action. What you'll learn: - Understand the core concepts of LangChain, Ollama, and the architecture of LLM-powered applications. - Configure a local environment with Ollama to run popular open-source large language models. - Master modern prompt engineering and build flexible workflows with the LangChain Expression Language (LCEL). - Build a complete Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system to query and get answers from private documents. - Learn to reliably parse and structure LLM outputs into predictable formats like JSON for your applications. - Create simple AI agents that can use tools to perform tasks and make decisions. - Explore the fundamental principles of preparing your LangChain application for deployment. The course begins with foundational terminology and setup, then guides you through building progressively more complex applications, from simple chains to a fully functional RAG pipeline and basic agents. This course is designed for beginners. No prior experience with LangChain or AI development is required, though a basic understanding of Python will be helpful. Start reading and build your first AI application today.

Course contents

6 modules · 29 lessons · 3h 6m

1 Foundations & Local Setup
Set up the local environment and understand the basic architecture of LLM apps.
5 lessons · 32 min
  1. Welcome & Course Terminology
    Introduction to the course and key terms like LLM, Prompt, and Weights.
    6 min
  2. LangChain Architecture
    Understanding how LangChain connects models, prompts, and data.
    7 min
  3. Installing Ollama Locally
    Setting up Ollama on your machine to run models without APIs.
    6 min
  4. Running Your First Local Model
    Downloading and running Llama 3 or Mistral using Ollama CLI.
    7 min
  5. Connecting Python to Ollama
    Using the LangChain-Ollama integration to call a model from code.
    6 min
2 Mastering Chains & LCEL
Learn how to build flexible workflows and structure AI outputs.
5 lessons · 33 min
  1. Prompt Templates
    Creating reusable and dynamic prompts for consistent AI behavior.
    7 min
  2. Introduction to LCEL
    Learning the Pipe (|) syntax for building declarative chains.
    7 min
  3. Building Simple Chains
    Combining prompts and models into a single executable workflow.
    6 min
  4. Output Parsers: JSON & Beyond
    Forcing the LLM to return structured data like JSON for app integration.
    7 min
  5. Debugging with LangSmith
    Visualizing chain execution to find where things go wrong.
    6 min
3 RAG: Chatting with Your Data
Build a system that can answer questions based on private documents.
6 lessons · 39 min
  1. What is RAG?
    Understanding the Retrieval-Augmented Generation workflow.
    6 min
  2. Loading Private Documents
    Using LangChain loaders to import PDFs and text files.
    6 min
  3. Text Splitting & Chunking
    Breaking long documents into manageable pieces for the LLM.
    6 min
  4. Embeddings & Vector Space
    Converting text into mathematical vectors for semantic search.
    7 min
  5. Local Vector Databases
    Setting up ChromaDB or FAISS to store and retrieve chunks.
    7 min
  6. The Retrieval Chain
    Building a chain that finds relevant context and answers queries.
    7 min
4 Conversational Context
Add memory to your applications for multi-turn conversations.
4 lessons · 25 min
  1. Why LLMs Have No Memory
    Understanding the stateless nature of LLMs and how to bypass it.
    6 min
  2. Managing Chat History
    Using LangChain's history objects to store previous messages.
    6 min
  3. Building a Conversational RAG
    Combining RAG with chat history for follow-up questions.
    7 min
  4. Streaming Responses
    Implementing token-by-token streaming for a better user experience.
    6 min
5 AI Agents & Tool Use
Create agents that can reason and interact with the real world.
5 lessons · 33 min
  1. Introduction to Agents
    How agents use reasoning to decide which actions to take.
    7 min
  2. Defining Custom Tools
    Writing Python functions that your AI can execute.
    6 min
  3. Using Pre-built Tools
    Integrating tools like Wikipedia or Calculator into your agent.
    6 min
  4. The ReAct Pattern
    Understanding the 'Reason + Act' loop in modern agents.
    7 min
  5. Building a Local Research Agent
    Creating an agent that searches local docs and summarizes findings.
    7 min
6 Deployment & Production
Prepare your LangChain application for real-world use.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. Environment Variables & Security
    Managing secrets and configurations safely.
    6 min
  2. Deployment Principles
    Overview of Dockerizing and hosting local-first AI apps.
    6 min
  3. Evaluating LLM Outputs
    Basic techniques to measure the quality of your RAG system.
    6 min
  4. Final Project Overview
    Guidelines for building the capstone Local AI Assistant.
    6 min
Final project

The Personal Local AI Assistant

Build a comprehensive local application that uses RAG to answer questions from your personal library and can use a custom tool (e.g., a local file organizer or weather checker) to perform tasks.

What you'll get

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  • ⚡ Short & focused
    3h 6m of practical content

Certificate of completion

Every course you complete on PickAClass issues a credential like this — original, with its own code, verifiable by URL, and detailed about what was actually demonstrated.

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Certificate of Mastery
This certifies that
Name Surname
has successfully demonstrated mastery of
Introduction to LangChain: Build AI Apps with Ollama
Skills demonstrated
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Behavioral pattern analysis
Foundational
1.2 hrs
✓
Decision-architecture frameworks
Proficient
1.4 hrs
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A/B test design
Proficient
1.7 hrs
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1.9 hrs
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PickAClass — Name Surname
Introduction to LangChain: Build AI Apps with Ollama
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Performance detail
Coursework summary
Lessons completed 14 / 14
Practice questions 26 / 28
Assignments submitted 4 (avg 4.5 / 5)
Capstone project Reviewed — 4.6 / 5
Total practice 6.2 hrs
Performance benchmark
Cohort rank Top 12% of 1,625
Time to completion 11 days (median: 22)
Mastery score 91 / 100
Practice-question score 94%
Skill verification Verified Skill Path
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Issued under the academic standards of PickAClass. Skill levels reflect assessed performance against the course's competency rubric. This is an original credential of this platform.

Reviews (7)

Manuela Silva BR Verified learner
★ 4 · October 19, 2026

Good introduction. I appreciated the clear steps, although some of the later modules could have used more examples.

Kebebew Tadese ET Verified learner
★ 4 · September 11, 2026

This was a great learning experience. Very clear explanations and a logical flow that made complex ideas easy to grasp.

Marit Solberg NO Verified learner
★ 4 · August 18, 2026

A good introduction. The structure was mostly clear, but I wish there were a few more real-world examples. Still, learned a lot.

Adriana Ríos PA Verified learner
★ 1 · August 3, 2026

Found it a bit dry, tbh. The examples weren't always the most relevant, making it hard to stay engaged through some of the modules.

Hatice Şahin TR
★ 4 · July 4, 2026

It's a decent introduction. Could benefit from more diverse examples and a slightly better flow between modules.

عزة محمود EG
★ 4 · July 2, 2026

This was a brilliant way to learn! The structure was logical, the pace was spot on, and the examples were super helpful. Highly recommend!

Horváth Katalin HU Verified learner
★ 5 · May 25, 2026

This course exceeded my expectations. The real-world applications discussed are incredibly useful. Great job!

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